NORTHGATE Blog

HIDDEN POTENTIAL

Last weekend, we launched our 2018 giving emphasis: HIDDEN POTENTIAL. Together, we discovered that you and I have hidden potential that God calls us to uncover each and every day. In the same way, our building has hidden potential. When fully unleashed, we’ll enhance our building environment, wow our guests, and help people all the more become who God purposed them to be.

The goal is ambitious. That’s okay. As I said this past weekend, when God calls us to do something:

We don’t have to be afraid. We need to remember that it’s not about us. It’s about God.We never do it alone.

So, let’s review the specifics of this campaign.

THE GOAL?Together, let’s raise $100,000 over and above our current tithes and offerings.

THE NEED?Some current obstacles have been identified:

1. Auditorium seatingMore aisles are needed in our stadium section. People like to sit on aisles. Guests come in and can’t find a seat! That needs to change.

2. Lobby experienceNorthgate has a bright lobby. A little too bright! Our guests can’t see us and we can’t see them! Let’s revamp the lobby, darken the windows a little, and create a more welcoming atmosphere.

3. YouthDue North youth ministry is hopping! Let’s make Northgate a destination location for tweens and teens! Games, engaging activities, and hands on fun!

4. A center screenIf you’ve attended Northgate on Christmas or Easter, you’ve seen it. An already solid worship environment gets dialed up with the presence of another screen. Let’s put it in the center and get our worship on!

These unique and fun opportunities will enhance the overall experience at Northgate and make our guests feel all the more welcome.

THE HOW?The truth is we all have the potential to see this vision become a reality. Will you help us makes it happen?

The Bible is clear on what we should give. So, I challenge you to put God first in your finances in 2018 by giving at least 10% of your income to the church and give above and beyond to HIDDEN POTENTIAL.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. —Malachi 3

An easy way to establish the regular habit of tithing and to give over and above to HIDDEN POTENTIAL is to take advantage of electronic giving. It’s easy to set up. Just go to http://ngatechurch.org/give and follow the instructions.

THE WIN?Northgate Church is passionate about helping people become who God purposed them to be. Just imagine what will happen when we unleash this HIDDEN POTENTIAL. More and more people finding their purpose! Thank you in advance!

Have Yourself a Sacramental Christmas

A sacrament is a visible image of God’s grace, a physical representation of a spiritual reality. In the Lutheran tradition we recognize two Sacraments, baptism and communion. Baptism is a tangible, visual, ritual that represents a believer’s participation in Christ’s death and resurrection. Communion is a visible, and edible, reminder of Jesus’ body and blood given to us for the forgiveness of sin. These sacraments have been ritualized with much pomp and circumstance, and our tradition can sometimes take away from the profound truth that these sacraments were originally very common things!

Washing and ritual cleansing were a daily Jewish practice. Baptism, therefore, wasn’t a new idea in the day of Jesus, but rather a common practice that was given a new meaning. The same is true with Communion. Jesus used bread and wine, both of which were consumed every day, to represent the New Covenant. When Jesus said, “Whenever you eat of this, and drink of this, remember me”, he wasn’t thinking of church services where we have a sip of grape juice and a nibble of bread. It was in the context that they would be eating bread and drinking wine every day! Whenever you eat and drink, remember me.

God is still in the sacramental business, He uses all sorts of physical, tangible, everyday things, to remind us of His love, purpose, and grace. I want to point out two Christmas sacraments for us to think about this holiday season; two normal, everyday things that can point us to Jesus, to remind us of what Christmas is all about.

GIFTS

First, presents! Everybody loves giving and receiving gifts at Christmas time, yet too often the Christian message looks down on presents, claiming they are a distraction or even an idol! In other words, presents are given a ‘bad wrap’, ha! What if, instead of seeing them as a distraction, presents could be seen as sacrament, a physical reminder of a spiritual truth?

“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him (Matthew 7:11)!”

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17).”

Our gift giving at Christmas time can be a symbol of our generous heavenly Father who gives good gifts us. We can use this Christmas tradition in our families to point to the greatest gift of all time, Jesus Christ.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son....(John 3:16).”

Instead of rejecting presents as a distraction from Christmas, let’s use them as a way to point to its true meaning! Talk to your kids about it, meditate on it, and reflect on your own excitement and enthusiasm as a reflection of God’s own excitement in giving us Jesus!

FAMILY

Our second Christmas sacrament revolves around another tradition, being with those we love. You might look forward to being with your family because you love each other and get along. Maybe that’s not your situation; you might have a broken family, and even though you do get together for Christmas, you wish those relationships could be different, healthier, and more loving. Or, maybe you don’t have family to gather with, and Christmas is a time of sorrow and longing. No matter what position you are in, whether being with family in a healthy way is possible or not, there is one thing we have in common. There is a desire, a longing, to be with our loved ones.

"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel" (which means "God with us") (Matthew 1:23).”

Christmas is about God’s deep desire, his longing, to be with us. Our family celebrations, our desire for healthy relationships, and even our sorrow over lost loved ones, can remind us of God’s heart for us! God loves us and wants to be with us! Thanks to Jesus we can be with Him!

This next week, whenever you give or receive a gift, remember Him. Remember your Heavenly Father who loves to give you good gifts, and who has given the greatest gift of all, Jesus. When you feel that excitement, longing, or sorrow about being with family, remember Him. Remember that Christmas is the celebration of Emmanuel, God with us.

Blessings to you all as you celebrate the coming of God into this world. Praying you have a very merry, sacramental Christmas!

Oh, By the Way...

The book of 1 John is known as the book of love. Over and over, John describes the love of God: what it is and what it is not. And then we get to the end of this love letter and we see this last thought. “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”

What? Wait. Where did that come from?

Maybe it’s just me, but as I read through this book over and over myself, this last sentence seemed out of place. It’s good. It’s right. It’s something we need to do. But it seemed like an afterthought. Like an, “Oh, by the way…” kind of thing.

But as we think about this statement and look back at all John has just communicated about God’s love, we see that this is how we do everything else he’s talked about. We will keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, walking in His ways, or we will fix our eyes on idols, things of lesser value, power and truth.

The principles discussed in the study Living in the Light of God’s Love: Walk this Way are how we keep fixed on Jesus. We can all get off course occasionally, but by doing these things, we will course correct quickly. What does it entail?

FELLOWSHIP

It’s such a churchy word, but all it means is active relationship. We live and engage in an active relationship (in fellowship) with God and with others who know God. We are authentic, not hiding who we really are. We grow and become more invested in Him and each other, able to speak deeper and more gracious truth and encouragement into each other’s lives. We more clearly hear and receive God’s truth and encouragement.

OBEDIENCE

This word entices rebellion right off the bat. “No one’s going to tell me what to do!” But our relationship with God is not just any relationship. His heart for us is one of a parent for a child. And just as our parents told us what to do for our own good, so does God. And God’s direction (commands) are not based on His personal experience in our world; it’s based on His character and the character He’s growing in each of us. It’s completely pure in thought, word and deed. God’s commands set us apart for good in this world, not evil. And if we’re honest, isn’t that what we want, to do good in this world?

HUMILITY

At the same time, we all want what we want. And it seems good to us in the moment, even over the years. And yet to follow anyone’s direction requires us to set aside what we think for what they say. Humility lays ourselves down, acknowledges the value and worth of another as more significant than just what we want. It isn’t that we are not also important, it just says that our wants are not more important than another person’s being and needs. We submit to Jesus, what He says and what He does, so that we can actually do things the way He did them.

MEDITATION

This word, unfortunately conjures up thoughts of religious practices that have nothing to do with the true and living God. But I refuse to let lesser gods hijack words that have good meaning and purpose. Meditation is simply the things we think about throughout our days and nights. What thoughts roll through your mind on a regular basis? Worry, anxiety, revenge, achievement, proving yourself, loss and sorrow? God has given us His Word in both the person of Jesus and through the Holy Scripture. We can think all sorts of things, but all we really need to know is found within the pages of our Bibles. We can read and know that God’s grace and truth will see us through, and as we think on His Word, our perspective, understanding and response to our situations will change. We can know God and through the power of His Spirit, find joy in His Word.

PRAYER

As I was growing up, I thought of prayer as me thinking, maybe speaking my requests to God hoping that He’d hear them and answer them. When I was in my late 20’s, I heard a woman at church talking about how she was talking to God and He was talking back! Really? Was this older woman for real or just “thinking” she heard from God? Can we really hear God? Does He really speak to us personally, individually? Prayer is all about our conversations with God, coming to Him with everything. We seek to know Him and hear from Him. What God says to us when we pray has the power to change our lives if we let it. And therein lies the challenge of prayer…

WORSHIP

“Dear children (you who are loved), keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21) “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Deuteronomy 5:7) (Jesus replied:) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)

How do we love each other well? We worship God and God alone. As we seek to follow Jesus in relationship with Him, doing what He says, submitting our will to His, knowing His truth and grace, seeking to hear from Him regularly, we follow the example He set of what it means to love God and love others. We focus all our attention, all our purpose on Him. This is our worship: to be a living sacrifice offering our whole life up to Him for His purpose. His love is good in us and it’s good through us. Walk as Jesus did. Love God and one another well.

Want to dig deeper into the book of 1 John?

Living in the Light of God’s Love: Walk thisWay is available at the Welcome Desk or at MariKeisling.com.